SAFE IN CEBU. The robust economy of Cebu City, recently ranked as one of the safest cities in Southeast Asia, as shown by its rapid vertical development in this photo taken from the rooftop of the Insular Life Building at the Cebu Business Park, the city’s premier economic center, on April 8, 2018.
8th in Top Ten Cities in Southeast Asia
Despite the number of unsolved killings in the city and its neighboring areas, Cebu City is still considered as one of the safest cities to live in, not just in the Philippines but in Southeast Asia.
A report on crime index per city released by Numbeo, an online database that provides living conditions of cities worldwide, Cebu City was ranked as the eighth safest in Southeast Asia.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, although happy about the recognition, said the city still has a long way to go to raise its ranking in terms of safety.
“We want to be number 1. We don’t want to be number 8. We should be better,” said Osmeña in a phone interview on Sunday.
Osmeña said that peace and order measures should be institutionalized to keep the residents and the tourists feel they are safe when in the city.
“Our chief of police (Senior Supt. Joel Doria) has been selected as the number one chief of police in the Philippines but one more crime is one more crime too many. It’s not just solving crimes. Next time, it will include prosecution, crime prevention and intelligence (gathering) to make it sustainable,” the mayor said.
Ranking
In Numbeo’s ranking, Singapore was named the safest city in Southeast Asia with an 83.77 percent safety rate and only 16.23 crime rate.
Second on the list was Valenzuela City in the Philippines, with a safety index of 74.79. Other cities in the Philippines to make the list were Davao at fourth place (71.21), Makati at fifth place (60.44), and Baguio at sixth place (59.43).
Cebu was ranked 8th with a safety index of 55.72 and a corresponding crime index of 44.28.
Other Southeast Asian cities to make the list were Chiang Mai of Thailand at third (71.29), Bali in Indonesia at seventh (57.54), Penang of Malaysia at ninth (55), and Bangkok of Thailand at tenth (52.94).
According to the Numbeo website, their data is based on surveys from visitors of the site who are asked questions similar to many related scientific and government surveys.
Number defines crime index as an estimation of overall level of crime in a given city or country. Crime levels lower than 20 are described as very low, crime levels between 20 to 40 are low, crime levels between 40 and 60 are moderate, crime levels between 60 and 80 are high, while crime levels higher than 80 are very high.
On the other hand, safety index is the opposite of the crime index. If the city has a high safety index, it is considered very safe, it explained.
Numbeo.com is said to be among the largest websites that uses user-generated data on cities and countries all over the world. It features rankings on health care, cost of living, and quality of life. Data from the website has been cited in other publications like The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes, and Time Magazine, according to an Inquirer report.
But even if Cebu is ranked as the fifth safest city in the Philippines and eight in Southeast Asia, Cebu business leaders agree with Osmeña that local authorities could not be complacent and continue to address security and safety concerns not just in Cebu City but in other areas of the province as well.
Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Stanley Go said it is also important to credit the police force for Cebu’s image as a safe place.
“These kinds of news are excellent news. One of the major considerations of businesses is safety. Given that Cebu is considered as safe, that is good for both business and of course tourism. We have to acknowledge the efforts of the police in keeping our cities safe,” Go told Cebu Daily News.
Where credit is due
While the police force is easily blamed for any problems or incidents, he said it is also important to credit them for their efforts to maintain peace and order.
Go said he personally feels safe in Cebu and that a lot of tourists also feel the same way.
“So what measures do we need to do? We should not be complacent. We congratulate the police for achieving such an image. And we need to continue to be vigilant and maintain the status of being safe,” he said.
Supt. Artemio Ricabo, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) deputy director for administration, said the recognition could be attributed to their active crime prevention operations, to include the mobile checkpoints and police visibility on the streets.
He also noted that there were only a few crime cases involving tourists in Cebu City, adding to the city’s reputation as a safe place to go to.
Ricabo said they are also implementing a comprehensive Major Event Security Framework to ensure the safety of participants of international and local events that are held in the city.
At present, there are about 1,200 uniformed police personnel assigned in the CCPO. This number is divided among 11 stations, administrative offices and response units like highway patrol and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).
Department of Tourism in Central Visayas (DOT-7) Regional Director Shalimar Tamano, meanwhile, agreed on the importance of safety and security in promoting tourism.
Aside from the police, he said the communities also contributed in making Cebu City safe.
“Sometimes, we leave it up to the cops, but that should not be the case. It first comes from the community. The one with the biggest role is the community. If they don’t give tips and report, our cops will have a hard time,” he said.
‘Nothing to brag about’
But Cebu Business Club (CBC) President Gordon Alan Joseph said he found Cebu City’s inclusion as an “interesting result” given the “series and history of killings in the city.”
He added that rankings do not mean much and that what should be looked into are comparative statistics, solved and unsolved crimes, types of crimes, and crime per capita among others.
The report of Cebu City being considered one of the safest cities came even after a spate of killings recorded not just in Cebu City but in neighboring areas for the past months.
Last February, CDN ran a story on the series of killings in different parts of Metro Cebu.
Based on police reports, from February 16 to 26, at least 19 persons were gunned down in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay and the town of Minglanilla.
Most of the victims were killed by still unidentified assailants.
“By the way, I don’t think being number eight is anything to brag about. This just means that there are seven places (that people are) eager to live and invest in,” Joseph told CDN.
He cited a 2009 study that ranked 260 Asian cities and Cebu City was fifth to the last.
He also recalled that Cebu City used to be one of the most livable cities in Asia.
“(But) Now, we are drowning in traffic, garbage and in flooding. This is the result of 25 or more years of poor city management, and zero expert planning, or where there were plans in place, the inability to implement these plans,” Joseph said.
“And the inability of our political leaders and executives to implement the laws we already have in place,” he added.
Garganera disagrees
Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, a member of the the city’s Police Advisory Council (PAC), was elated by the result of the survey, as it only means that Cebuanos and even international tourists were unaffected by the recent spate of killings in the city.
He said he finds himself safe in his native city and was “very happy that other people from other countries also feel the same way.”
“I have been living in Cebu City all my life. I always feel safe,” said the 50-year-old councilor.
Garganera also lauded the effort of the police who contributed to the recognition earned by the city.
“The fact that we are in the top ten was a big boost to the police for doing their job efficiently and effectively and considering also the meager resources that they have,” he said.